Let's Go Back for Sept. 6, 2013

by jmaloni

Taken from the Sept. 6 Dispatch

Sat, Sep 14th 2013 12:55 am

40 Years Ago, Sept. 5,
1973

The Dispatch
comes home

Friday,
March 3, 1944, Vol. 1 No. 1 of the Island Dispatch hit the local newsstands and
from that day to this, through the ups and downs that accompany the newspaper
business, the Dispatch has employed its pages in the support and enlightenment
of this community.

In
a front-page editorial titled "Hello Grand Island," Oliver C.B. Howard
addressed the community concerning the policy of the newspaper he had founded.
The editorial read:

"With
this issue a new publication is born, 'The Island Dispatch.' From the word go
pledged to act only in the best interests of the community that it so proudly
serves, to report in its columns news without bias, and to be untiring in its
efforts to help Grand Island take its rightful place as Western New York's No.
1 residential suburb."

30 Years Ago, Sept. 2,
1983

Arias to face
Nastase in Glens Falls

Grand
Island's 19-year-old tennis sensation, Jimmy Arias, will play an exhibition
tennis match at the Glens Falls Civic Center against Ilie Nastase on Thursday,
Sept. 29. The match is part of the First National Tennis Classic, sponsored by
the First National Bank of Glens Falls.

Arias
needs no introduction to local sports buffs. He was Tennis Magazine's rookie of
the year in 1981. He has won three tournaments this year, including the Italian
Open in Florence and the U.S. Clay Court Championships in Indianapolis. He has
also finished second on three occasions. Arias is currently seeded ninth for
the U.S. Open at Forest Hills.

20 Years Ago, Sept. 3,
1993

DEC rids Mesmer
Dairy site of chemicals

The
Mesmer Dairy site has been a thorn in the side of Grand Island ever since the
business closed some five years ago. Impossible to secure, the building has
been boarded up several times, but vandals have continued to gain access, posing
major liability questions. A fire one year ago collapsed part of the structure,
making it even more of a hazard. The Grand Island Fire Co. in a recent letter
to the Department of Environmental Conservation requested action on the site,
and the Town Board in a resolution to the DEC dating back to October 1992 asked
for help in cleaning up the site.

More
than 60 drums of lubricants, ammonia and corrosives were found, many leaching
into the floor of the building.

10 Years Ago, Sept. 5,
2003

New vans for
veterans

Over
60 different sponsors that included several veteran organizations, community
businesses, as well as individual veterans throughout Western New York, helped
to purchase new vans for the Disabled American Veterans Volunteer
Transportation Network at the VA Western New York Healthcare System. Overall,
$32,000 was raised along with matching contributions from Colorado Trust in
cooperation with the National Disabled American Veterans Organization to
purchase four new vans.

"These
donations allow us to continue to expand and replace vans to transport our
veterans to necessary medical appointments," stated Richard Kloc, DAV van
transportation coordinator. "Without this support, this would not be possible.